SPIEGEL: Mr. de Meuron, do you feel that the price for Hamburg’s new concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie, is reasonable? It currently stands in the neighborhood of €865 million.

De Meuron: There is no doubt that the way the project has progressed has been far from ideal. This is very regrettable, especially for taxpayers. We are no less upset about this than the city is. We have also never experienced cost overruns and schedule delays of this magnitude before.

SPIEGEL: Can you tell us how much you think the Elbphilharmonieshould have cost?

De Meuron: Whether the Elbphilharmonie could have been built for less is a hypothetical question today. Since the first draft plan, the project has undergone countless changes and been expanded to include substantial extra features, such as an additional concert hall. But what is more important is what the city ends up getting for its money and what the Elbphilharmonie truly means to residents once it is in operation.

Ingenhoven: In other words, Pierre, you’re allowing yourself to evade the question.